


You Know How to be the Bigger Person

by chelztoddbrooke



Category: Spartacus Series (TV), Spartacus: War of the Damned
Genre: Anal Sex, Family, Fluff, Goat Farm, Homophobic Language, Kid Fic, M/M, Nagron, Oral Sex, Slash, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 16:27:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8924134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelztoddbrooke/pseuds/chelztoddbrooke
Summary: "Unfortunately, they’re going to get picked on at some point. Our job is to teach them how to handle it. After watching Elias today, I would say we are doing a pretty good job. So don’t be so hard on yourself,” Nasir mentioned. 
Our little family runs into some trouble of the bullying variety at the grocery store. 
Warning: There is homophobic language and explicit sexual acts.
Enjoy!





	

**Author's Note:**

> Another little venture in my goat farm universe. I finally have some time to spend with these characters. I have been tangled up in a lengthy story in another fandom for a long time now and finally put it to bed late last month. So I am definitely going to dedicate some time to that prequel I've hinted at. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this piece. I have an idea for a follow up chapter, that is a bit on the darker side. (Will be full of fluff in one way or another at some point)

“Stupid faggots.” The words were barely loud enough to be heard, but they made Agron flinch all the same. He stood in the cereal aisle with his husband and two children trying to decide between coco puffs and cheerios. Obviously, someone had rolled up beside them. He could tell by the way Nasir tensed at his side that he’d heard the remark as well. Agron turned slowly to set eyes on the culprit. The man was unsuspecting, average, but then again bigots usually didn’t go around with a sign around their necks.

“Excuse me?” he started, pinning the guy with a steely glare.

“I said you stupid _faggots_ are in my way,” that time it was loud enough for everyone to hear and he put a special emphasis on the word faggots.

“That’s a bad word,” Elias gasped. “We don’t use that at our house!”

“Don’t want your boy knowing what you really are? Faggots,” the man taunted. Elias lunged forward.

“My dads aren’t…aren’t…” he couldn’t bring himself to say the word. He knew what it meant. A bully at his school had called him a faggot once. That night, he and his dads had a long conversation about bad words and how hurtful they could be.

“E…ignore him,” Agron urged, reaching out to grab the boy by the back of the shirt. Elias returned to his father’s side. Agron glanced at Nasir who had Imani tucked tightly against his chest. The little girl had fortunately never come in contact with that type of language and was more startled by the man’s tone than anything else. “We ok?” Agron checked with his family. Nasir nodded and Agron continued to push the cart down the aisle.

“You think it’s cute, playing house like some normal family. But really, it’s disgusting. You two cocksuckers raising children. And I say children loosely. Your kind can’t make kids so that means they’re either science experiments or someone’s sloppy seconds. Their parents didn’t want them so they threw them to the queers,” the man pressed. This time Elias flinched and grabbed Agron’s hand. Imani whimpered and buried her face in her father’s neck. Nasir ignored the cocksucker jab in favor of the comments about his children.  He rounded on the guy, his face going hard.

“What did you say about my kids?” he hissed. Agron growled under his breath. If you wanted to upset Nasir, the quickest way was to bring up his kids. He caught his husband around the waist, reeling him back in like he’d done with his son.

“Take the kids and go to the next aisle,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving the man. Nasir glared at the man for a few more seconds before turning to do what he was told. He had a bad feeling about what Agron might do to the man, but he realized he didn’t care. Whatever Agron did, the man had coming.

“Come on E, grab the cart,” he called to his son.

Once his family was around the corner, Agron reached out to grab a fistful of the man’s shirt.

“Listen motherfucker,” he spat. The man sneered at him. “I don’t give a shit about you. I don’t fucking care about your stupid opinions, but you’ve upset my husband and you scared my children. That’s a problem. Who the fuck do you think you are scaring innocent children? You walk around here all righteous, spewing your vile hate, telling me how wrong my life is when you went out of your way to SCARE A FUCKING CHILD. You are the one that’s disgusting,” Agron growled.

“Not as disgusting as your AIDS covered hands,” the man snorted, pulling his shirt out of Agron’s grip. Agron rolled his eyes. AIDS was such a tired and inaccurate insult. More of an offence to those with AIDS than gay men. He stepped into the guy’s personal space.

“If you don’t mind your own God damn business and leave my family the fuck alone, you’re going to wish all I did was put hands on you,” he threatened, smoothing his hands down the front of the man’s shirt, knowing it would make him uncomfortable. The truth was, it was taking everything in Agron’s power not to kick the guy’s ass. He wanted it so bad his hands tingled. However, he knew violence wasn’t the answer. It was not the message he wanted to send his kids even if they were in the next aisle over. Hitting the man would cause a scene which is exactly what the guy wanted. That was why he provoked Agron in the first place.

“You’re what’s wrong with this world, you filthy queer,” the man sneered.

“No sir, you are,  you ignorant bigot. Go fuck yourself,” Agron retorted, turning to walk away, mustering the last of his decorum.

“It’s better than fucking you,” the man called after him.

Agron turned back, smirking, “My husband begs to differ.”

As Agron rounded the corner to find his family, he could her the man shouting for a manager, saying “some faggot assaulted him for no reason”.

“Everything ok?” Nasir asked as Agron returned to his side.

“Yeah, but we should go. We can shop another day,” he sighed, hating himself for playing into that asshole’s game. Had it been just he and Nasir, he’d continue shopping, but the man had scared his children. He didn’t want to risk it happening again. Nasir’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t hurt him did you?” he gasped. Agron released a dry laugh.

“I wish, but no. He’s asking for a manager though. Let’s just leave. I don’t want him near the kids again,” Agron explained.

“That’s him! He grabbed me and tried to have his way with me!” the man shouted as Agron and Nasir made their way to the exit.

“Daddy,” Imani whimpered. The word made Nasir’s stomach drop. It wasn’t a specific “Daz” or “Daggie”, it was simply “Daddy”, a desperate cry for comfort the child rarely used.

“It’s ok, baby,” Nasir soothed, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. “We’re leaving,”

“Why won’t he stop?” Elias groaned. Agron squeezed his hand.

“He’s just a bully,” he reminded his son. “We’re leaving,” Agron addressed the frazzled manager. “Sorry to abandon our cart.” The manager’s eyes jetted between the young family and the blustering man. It was pretty obvious what really happened. He left the man fuming and went after Agron, Nasir, and the kids.

“You don’t have to leave. I’m going to have him escorted off the premises. One of my employees saw the whole thing. I assure you we don’t stand for that kind of behavior,” the manger mentioned.

“I appreciate that,” Nasir said with a tight smile. “But we need to get the kids home. Again, sorry about the cart.”

“No worries, we’ll take care of it,” the manager replied.

* * *

The car was unusually quiet on the ride home. Even the kids kept to themselves. Nasir sighed. He knew his whole family was shaken by that homophobic prick. However, Agron’s white knuckles on the steering wheel and his tense jaw told Nasir his husband took the brunt of the abuse. Part of Nasir wished Agron had just hit the man. Yes, it would’ve set a terrible example for their children, but at least Agron would feel better. In turn, that would make Nasir feel better. He hated seeing Agron like this.

“Do you mind if I go for a run?” Agron asked as soon as they entered the house and the kids took off to go play.

“Fine with me,” Nasir shrugged. Agron gently squeezed the back of his neck as he passed him on the way to the bedroom. He emerged moments later in a pair of gym shorts and his running shoes, heading out the back door. “Hey,” Nasir called his husband back. Agron stepped up on the bottom porch step, putting him level with Nasir, his eyes curious. “I love you, be careful,” Nas mentioned pressing a quick kiss to Agron’s lips.

 “Of course, love you too,” Agron replied, turning and jogging out of the yard. Nasir watched him go. He knew the incident at the store had rattled his husband. While Agron was thick skinned, he hadn’t been met with a lot of bullying regarding his sexuality. He grew up in an accepting household and a pretty progressive area and was well liked enough that it was a nonissue. Nasir, however, was the complete opposite. The foster system could eat gay kids alive. He learned early on to keep his head down and his mouth shut. He shook his head to rid himself of the dark days and what it had nearly done to he and Agron’s relationship when they’d started dating.

He shut the door and turned back to the kitchen. He wondered if he needed to talk to the kids about what happened at the store. He knew Imani only felt the hostility of the moment, whereas Elias understood why it was so hostile, at least as far as his dads were concerned. None of them really understood why the other man felt the need to act the way he had. Nasir decided just to let the kids play. If either of them had questions, both he and Agron would sit down and have an open discussion.

“Daz?” Imani’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Yes, baby?” he addressed the small child in front of him.

“Movie?” she asked, holding up the dvd in her hands. He could tell she was ready for a nap, not that she would ever admit it. They were starting to phase out naps during the week, but on the weekends they usually all had a “rest” curled up on the couch with a movie.

“Does E want to watch?” he checked. Imani shrugged. Nasir nodded. “Ok, you go put it in and I’ll ask E. You need a snack?” he added. Imani just blinked up at him. Nasir felt dumb for asking. Imani always needed a snack. He tossed a bag of popcorn in the microwave and went to find his son.

 “Hey bud,” he started, leaning against the door frame. The boy’s head popped up from the Lego set he was working on. Eight years and Nasir still couldn’t believe how much Elias looked like Agron. Neither of their children favored their surrogate. “Monster and I were going to watch a movie, want to join?” he offered. Elias thought for a moment, then nodded.

 “I’ll be there in a second,” he said, dumping his Legos back in their bin. He was their tidy child, a trait he gleaned from Nasir, _not_ Agron.

* * *

It was no surprise that both kids were sleeping within the first half hour of the movie. Sometimes Elias would make it through the whole thing, but the afternoon movie doze had been part of his routine for a long time and old habits die hard. Nasir didn’t need to see the ending of “Hercules” for the millionth time so he let it play while he went to take care of a few things in the kitchen. Agron stepped through the back door a few moments later.

“Kids playing?” he asked, reaching for the dish towel to wipe is sweaty brow.

“Napping,” Nasir informed.

“For long?” Agron wondered. Nasir squinted up at the clock on the wall.

 “Maybe twenty minutes.” He replied absently, his attention on the dishes in the sink.

“Perfect,” Agron grinned, his expression going wolfish. He knew the kids would be asleep for at least another half hour. Plenty of time. In two large strides, he was crowding his husband against the sink.

Nasir tensed momentarily, Agron hadn’t snuck up on him like that in a long time. He could feel the heat coming off of him in waves. He swallowed thickly as he turned to face his husband. Agron’s green eyes were full of lust, pupils blown wide with arousal. Nasir should have known Agron would come back to him like this, still filled with tension, teeming with endorphins, and jonesing for an outlet. It wasn’t the most healthy of habits, but it only happened when Agron was having a really bad day.

Agron’s hands dove into Nasir’s hair and kissed him, hard. He pressed his tongue into the smaller man’s mouth. Nasir moaned slowly and hooked his arms around his husband’s neck. Agron took one hand out of Nas’s hair and snaked it around his waist, forcing their bodies tighter together. Nasir compulsively rolled his hips. Agron’s hand gravitated from his waist, down the back of his jeans. He pressed his finger against Nasir’s entrance. Nasir gasped at the intrusion, his body going completely taught.

“Agron,” he yelped. “The kids are asleep on the couch,” he hissed.

“Then we should take this to the bedroom,” Agron growled, his teeth nipping at Nasir’s chin. He untangled himself, and grabbed Nasir’s hand, leading him towards the bedroom.

No sooner than they got into the bedroom did Agron round on Nasir, pinning him against the closed door. Nasir didn’t even have time to react before Agron’s mouth covered his. Nasir submitted easily, his arms wrapping around Agron, fingers digging into his sweat slicked back. Agron’s hands fished between them, working the fly on Nasir’s jeans. With a low growl, Nasir batted him away.  This was how it was with them sometimes, a battle for dominance. It couldn’t all be tender love making, sometimes it was a quick and dirty fuck.

Nasir put his hands on the large man’s shoulder and pushed, hard. Agron stumbled backward, the bed catching the back of his knees. With a cocksure grin, he leaned forward and snatched Nasir’s arm, dragging him towards the bed. For a moment, they grappled, rolling around on the mattress in a tangle of limbs until Agron used his size advantage to pin his husband beneath him. Nasir hissed, fighting against the weight on top of him.

“Easy,” Agron growled, tangling a hand in Nasir’s dark hair and tugging. Nasir went plaint almost immediately. Agron let out a victorious laugh. “Don’t forget I know how to push every one of your buttons,” he reminded, his voice rasping against Nasir’s ear. Nasir huffed. He knew if he really wanted to he could fight back and regain the upper hand, but he knew Agron needed this more than he did. Plus, the kids were only napping, they didn’t have much time. Instead, he gave in; lifting his hips so Agron could pull off his jeans. From there he lost track. A bottle of lube appeared, slick fingers pressed insistently at his entrance and Agron’s hot mouth was doing amazing work on his aching cock. He whimpered, not sure what he wanted most.

Agron released his husband’s cock with a wet pop. He would love to suck him to release, only to build him right back up, but they didn’t have time for that. He curled the fingers inside Nasir, causing the man to cry out, his small body spasming. Agron grinned, his free hand covering Nasir’s mouth.

“Now is not the time to get loud, you’ll wake the children,” he reminded.

“Agron, please,” Nasir mumbled into his husband’s hand, so close to release.

“Please what, baby?” Agron asked, feigning innocence as he curled his fingers again.

“Do that again and I’m going to cum,” Nas ground out. He was done with foreplay.

“I doubt that,” Agron chucked, doing it again just to prove his point. He knew just how far he could push his husband and they weren’t quite there yet. Nasir bit Agron’s hand, hard, fighting off his orgasm. He refused to cum before Agron was inside him. “You little shit,” Agron smirked, pulling both of his hands away. Nasir growled, unhappy with the loss.

“I swear to God, Agron. If you don’t start fucking…”the small man started, only for his breath to leave him as Agron’s cock pressed into his body. Nasir fisted the comforter, relishing the feeling of finally being full.

Agron quickly found his rhythm, each thrust pulling a small needy noise from his husband, This was the kind of situation where Nasir would be screaming in seconds if they weren’t careful. He leaned forward, capturing the man’s lips in a sloppy kiss, figuring it best to keep his mouth occupied.

“I need…” Nasir panted, moments later, his hand scrabbling to find one of Agron’s. “I need…” he repeated, his brain short circuiting as his orgasm built up at the base of his spine. He managed to communicate his need by bringing Agron’s hand to his cock. The man began to stroke him in time with his thrusts.

Agron fought hard to keep steady as he and Nasir both raced towards orgasm. As soon as he felt Nasir’s body go taught and hot ribbons of cum land across his sweaty chest; he let himself go, spilling inside Nasir, gasping out his name. He gingerly pulled out and flopped onto his back. The climax robbed him of his runner’s high and drained the tension from his body leaving him with just the emotions he’d been avoiding; raw and overexposed. With a sigh, he rolled back over, pressing his face against Nasir’s stomach. He absently noticed the man was still wearing his t-shirt. They hadn’t wasted time getting completely naked. They usually didn’t if the kids were home.

“Ag, you ok?” Nasir asked, running a hand over Agron’s hair.

“No,” Nasir felt Agron’s response rumbled against his stomach.

“Wanna talk about it?” It really wasn’t a question. Nasir was going to make Agron talk about it, but this way it seemed more like Agron had a choice in the matter. With a heavy sigh, Agron sat up. Nasir had to bite back a laugh. Were his expression not so somber, he would be the perfect post sex picture. Flushed, sweat slicked skin, sleepy eyes, swollen lips, drying cum on his chest. He opened his mouth to speak. “Babe, hold that thought,” Nasir interrupted him, reaching one hand back to pull his t-shirt over his head. He quickly cleaned himself up with the garment before balling it up and offering it to his husband to do the same. Agron tossed the shirt in the general direction of the laundry basket and scooped his shorts and Nasir’s jeans off the floor. Both men made themselves decent enough to avoid an awkward situation if the kids wandered in. Agron began to pace.

“Bringing kids up in a gay household makes everything so complicated. Not only do they have to put up with everything else kids have to put up with, they have the burden of their parents being gay. I don’t know if that’s fair,” he let out.

Nasir snorted a laugh. “Agron, I think it’s a little late to make the decision to not have kids. Elias is almost nine. Unless of course you’re reconsidering being gay and want to leave me for a woman. I wish you luck with that since just the word vagina makes you gag.” Agron scowled at him. Whether it was because he wasn’t making his point or because he didn’t feel Nasir was taking him seriously, Nasir wasn’t sure. “Sit down, your pacing is making me anxious,” he instructed, patting the bed next to him. His husband obliged. “Do you want to know what I don’t think is fair?” Nasir countered. Agron nodded. “I don’t think it’s fair that having gay parents should be considered a burden. In fact, why does there have to be a distinction? We’re not gay parents, we are parents. Being gay doesn’t change our responsibility to our children,” he pointed out.

“Nas, I didn’t mean…” Agron started. “I’m just really bad at this talking stuff,” he sighed.

“I know, you’ve been that way for the last ten years,” Nasir chuckled, reaching over to intertwine their fingers.

“I just want things to be easy for them,” Agron admitted.

“Ag, you’re a high school teacher. You know how tough it is to be a kid, regardless of the gay dads issue. Unfortunately, they’re going to get picked on at some point. Our job is to teach them how to handle it. After watching Elias today, I would say we are doing a pretty good job. So don’t be so hard on yourself,” Nasir mentioned. Agron took a moment to process that information. He nodded slowly.

“What are we going to do about today?” he wondered. Now that his kids were no longer in immediate danger, he could feel the intent of the man’s words. He’d never really been attacked for his sexuality before, verbally or otherwise. For that, he felt extremely fortunate. He knew others, his husband included, had not been nearly as lucky. With the few well-placed barbs he managed at the supermarket, he felt he had made his peace with the situation. However, his parental obligations nagged at him. How did Elias and Imani process the situation? What did they hear and more importantly what did they understand?

“I thought about this earlier. I was thinking we’d just wait and see if the kids had any questions, but the more I thought about it, the more that felt like we were ashamed and I don’t really want that to be the message we send our kids,” Nasir responded.

“I know the word faggot upset Elias, but to be honest, I am more worried about the whole ‘science experiment, sloppy seconds’ comment. I know he knows a little bit about where he came from, but I don’t want him to think there is anything wrong with him,” Agron expressed.

“Or that he was ever unwanted,” Nasir added, remembering the extent of the man’s harsh words. Agron squeezed Nasir’s hand, knowing the comment hit close to home. Nasir had been so loved for many years now, but that dull ache never really went away. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Nas’s temple. “And we can’t underestimate Imani. She may understand more than we think. If nothing else, I don’t want her being afraid of the grocery store,” Nasir changed subjects.

Agron scrubbed his free hand over his face. He really didn’t want to do this, but he knew he needed to. The peril of being a parent.

“This is not the end of the world, Ag. No one was hurt, we weren’t banned from the store and by next week, the kids won’t even give it a second thought,” Nas mentioned

“Thanks, Nas,” Agron murmured.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Nasir shrugged. “Any of that make you feel better?” he checked.

“The sex, definitely,” Agron smirked, waggling his eyebrows.

“You are such an ass,” Nasir shook his head.

“I think you mean ‘I have such a nice ass’,” Agron corrected. Nasir affectionately rolled his eyes.

“Daaads!” a small voice shrieked, effectively ending their conversation.

“Sounds like the kids are awake,” Nasir chuckled.

“Remind me why we wanted kids?” Agron mocked annoyance.

“That was all you, from day one,” Nasir teased, standing and pulling his husband from the bed.

“Imani won’t let me put in a different movie!” Elias shouted.

“Elias Mussan Rihn, there is no need to shout,” Agron returned, making his way down the hall.

“But she won’t let me put in another movie just because she fell asleep during Hercules. She’s seen it a million times,” Elias whined.

“That’s not the only DVD player in this house. Why don’t you watch something in your room? Or play with the Legos you were playing with earlier,” Nasir reminded.

“Why do I have to leave?” the boy pouted.

“Because you know how to be the bigger person,” Agron said with a pointed look. Elias huffed and stomped off towards his room. Imani’s head popped up over the back of the couch, sticking her tongue out at her brother’s back.

“Hey,” Nasir snapped. The girl pulled a face and dropped back out of view, properly chastised.

“I guess we’ll talk to them over dinner,” Agron shrugged. Since both kids had just been reprimanded, Agron knew if they tried to talk Elias and Imani now, they would feel like they were in trouble.

* * *

“So do we have to go to a different grocery store from now on?” Elias blurted as he took a large bite of pizza. Agron and Nasir exchanged a look. That was easier than they expected.

“No, that guy might have to though,” Agron started slow.

“He was scary,” Imani mentioned. Nasir reached over and brushed her dark hair out of her face. It was more of a comfort to him that to her. It wasn’t hard to tell how scared the little girl was as he held her in his arms that afternoon.

“And mean,” Elias agreed, his expression going serious. “He called you guys a bad name.”

“He did and you know sometimes the only way to deal with a bully is to walk away. So that’s why we left. We didn’t want to stay and risk him making you guys more scared or upset,” Nasir explained.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t go back there or that we will ever see him again if we do go back. We don’t want you guys to worry about going to the grocery store,” Agron interjected. Both kids went back to eating obviously satisfied with the conversation. Nasir however, was not. There was one key point that hadn’t come up. He would have to bring it up himself.

“Listen guys, there is something else that guy said that your dad and I wanted to talk to you about,” he started. “He said something about you guys and I wanted to make sure you guys knew it wasn’t true. I don’t know if you heard him but he said that two men can’t have kids…” Nasir pressed on, despite the fact that he hated telling this to his kids if they hadn’t heard it in the first place. He was conflicted between ‘what they don’t know won’t hurt them’ and ‘maybe they do know and are too afraid to say something’. He felt Agron’s hand squeeze his thigh under the table. He covered the hand with his own and shot the man a quick grateful smile.

“But that’s why we have Miss Amanda,” Elias chimed in. Amanda was their surrogate. She carried both of their children. Elias had met her a couple times when she was pregnant with Imani. Short of a yearly Christmas card, they weren’t in touch.

“Right,” Agron said with a nodded.

“Who’s Miss Amanda?” Imani wondered.

“You remember when Aunt Mia had a baby in her belly?” Nasir asked. Imani nodded. “Daddy’s can’t carry babies in their bellies so Miss Amanda carried you and your brother in her belly until you were ready to come live with us,” he tried to explain.

“At the same time!?” Imani gasped. Obviously having no other issue with the situation rather than potentially sharing a ‘belly’ with her brother.

“No honey, not at the same time,” Agron chuckled, mostly at the relief on the girl’s face. Elias’s face however seemed more confused. “What is it, E?”

“We don’t have other parents that didn’t want us so they gave us to you, right? Is that what the guy was wrong about?” the boy asked.

“Right, you are our kids. You belong to us,” Nasir assured him. “And you’re not science experiments either. You’re normal kids. Just with two dads.” At that, Elias actually looked disappointed.

“All the cool superheroes are science experiments. The hulk, Captain America, Bucky Barnes…” Elias sighed. Nasir breathed a laugh. Of course the kid would want to be a science experiment.

“I don’t think Bucky Barnes is a superhero, bud,” Agron corrected.

“He pulled Captain America out of the river,” Elias argued.

“Can I go play?” Imani asked, interrupting her dad before he could return with a volley of superhero facts.

“Sure baby, go wash your hands first,” Nasir allowed.

“Can I go too?” Elias wondered. With a nod Nasir dismissed him as well.

“Bucky Barnes is not a superhero,” Agron huffed.

“Babe, you are not arguing with our eight year old about superheroes,” Nasir laughed.

“But he’s wrong,” Agron whined.

“And you know how to be the bigger person,” Nasir parroted what Agron had told Elias earlier. Agron rolled his eyes. “Help me clear the table,” he requested, kissing the man’s cheek. Agron stood and gathered the kid’s dishes.

“Seriously though, do you think that conversation went ok?” he checked

“I don’t know. It wasn’t really what I expected, but at least they now know there is an open line of conversation if they have concerns,” Nasir shrugged.

* * *

Nasir lifted his head off of Agron’s shoulder as their son appeared at the edge of the living room. He and Agron had been flipping through the channels and idly chatting since they put the kids to bed and hour earlier.

“What’s up, bud?” Agron asked. Normally he would admonish the boy for being out of bed, but it was the weekend and the boy’s expression was nothing short of troubled.

“I just...” Elias looked down at his hands, twisting his fingers together. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Sorry for what?” Nasir wondered.

“For getting mad at the guy at the store. For letting him win,” Elias finally looked up, his small fists clinched at his sides. Agron and Nasir exchanged a look.

“E, come here,” Agron urged. The boy climbed up on the couch between his fathers. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he mentioned, squeezing the back if his son’s neck.

“We are so proud of you, Elias,” Nasir added. Elias turned to look at him, brow furrowed.

“But…”

“You stood up to that bully without raising your voice, insulting him, or hurting him. That’s not easy to do,” Nas explained.

“Yeah, even I insulted him,” Agron admitted, bumping shoulders with his son. Elias’s lips twitched into a smile briefly.

“But he got his way. We left. You guys said we left because me and Imani were upset. If I wouldn’t have been upset…”the boy argued. Agron interrupted him.

“Elias, my job as a parent is to make sure you and Imani are safe. I did not think you were safe with that man around. He was scaring Imani and I never want either of you to be sacred if there is something I can do about it.”

“We didn’t leave the store so the guy could win, we left because we wanted to protect our kids,” Nasir commented, ruffling Elias’s hair. “So don’t think for a second you did anything wrong. It was a dad decision.”

“And there’s two of us, so you’re always outnumbered,” Agron pointed out, reaching over the tickle his son’s belly.

                “Dad!” the boy gasped, trying to wriggle away. “Dad, stop! Dad!” he laughed, flopping on to his back across Nasir’s lap. Nasir joined in, attacking the boy’s neck. “No, Dads!” he shrieked, trying to fend off four hands. Finally, he log rolled onto the ground, laughing wildly. Agron stood from the couch and lifted the kid to his feet.

“Time for bed,” he stated. “Say goodnight to Dad.”

Elias turned toward Nasir and gave him a hug. “Night, Dad. Love you.”

“Goodnight E, love you too,” Nasir returned.

Agron bent down and tossed the boy over his shoulder, eliciting another round of laughter. It wouldn’t be long before Elias would be too big to be carted around or worse wouldn’t want to be. Agron shook off the thought and dodged his son’s flailing limbs as he carried him down the hall.

* * *

“So you insulted the guy?” Nasir asked as Agron dropped back down on the couch after tucking Elias in.

“Yup,” Agron replied with an exaggerated nod as he tucked his husband against his side.

“Care to explain?” Nasir urged.

“Well, I think I started with ‘motherfucker’ and then there was a smattering of other profanity and then I ended it with ‘go fuck yourself’ to which he replied ‘better than fucking you’ and I told him my husband begs to differ,” Agron shrugged. Nasir snorted a laugh. He had no doubt it went exactly like that.

“You are a pretty good lay,” he commented.

“Best you’ve ever had,” Agron replied with a wink.

“And so humble,” Nasir chuckled.


End file.
